The silly state of.... Nikon Grips!

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Following on from another thread discussing the design decisions of camera companies, I thought it would be a good idea to make it a series and my offering is:-

The silly state of.... Nikon Grips!

Bit of background, was a Pentax shooter for nearly a decade always having long heavy glass and changed systems due to focus performance and lens options.

Generally the switch has been great, I’m getting shots that I would have missed previously and the 400mm f2.8 is just awesome.....but....

The grips AARRGGHHHH such stupid decisions!

So, what’s the problem?

My main uses for grips are:-

- Extra battery life
- Additional weight helps balance with long glass
- Duplicate camera controls in portrait orientation.

The first 2 points are well covered as I have additional larger battery options I’ve never had before, expensive, but there nonetheless, thanks.

It’s the controls that drive me insane, why oh why are they not the same and where are all the damn buttons!? Why does Nikon not think that I want the same controls whether I’m shooting portrait or landscape?! Especially from a grip that is so damn expensive compared to the Pentax ones that duplicate the controls?

We have a D810 and a D500 with a grip for both and the whole situation must definitely have been made by accountants and not photographers!

The MB-D12 for example has in my eyes 6 buttons missing, yes 6! 2 from the from around the mount, 3 from around the shutter button and the AE-L button from the back

THE MB-D17 for the D500 has been given an extra button (woo hoo!) which in my eyes means there are now 4 missing buttons, 2 from the top and 2 from the front. Now here’s where the design decision gets sillier, the extra button around the shutter button on the grip CANNOT be used to duplicate either the +/- or ISO buttons from the same place on the camera!! So ends up 5 buttons ‘missing’.

As a wildlife shooter this just drives me nuts and the solution to the problem is sillier still as I’ve actually bought a wrist strap that I use so that when the camera is turned intro portrait mode my hand is forced to stay on the camera, uncomfortably, so I can have full control of the camera.

What this means for me going forward as I upgrade to a D850 is that I will get the cheapest 3rd party grip possible that supports 9fps as I will not be using the controls on it as too many are missing!!

Think that’s rant over for now and something I’ve wanted to get off my chest for a while!
 
I agree Nikon grips are not very good and do not mirror the full range of controls. Currently my mb-d17 is with Nikon being repaired, because the function button jammed, which is a little grating given the cost. And no moving to Sony is not a solution - what do I replace my 500mm f4 with?
 
Obvious answer - buy a Sony A9........
;)
Correctomundo.... Sony A9 all the way :D lol

You can just imagine how the conversation went in the design department!

A - So how do we add extra power to this power hungry monster with the grip?
B - I know, lets start by taking the battery out of the camera and replace it with plastic and wires instead!
A - Excellent idea, not only could we stand the batteries up on their side inside the grip instead of lying them flat and have the grip a lot bigger than it needs to be, having that awkward shape will take up a lot more space in your camera bag too!
B - Yes, that’s why we mad the bodies smaller so we could use some of that space to carry the over sized accessories! You’ll need that extra room to take that 3rd battery that could have fitted in the camera!

Etc.etc.!
 
What this means for me going forward as I upgrade to a D850 is that I will get the cheapest 3rd party grip possible that supports 9fps as I will not be using the controls on it as too many are missing!!

Think that’s rant over for now and something I’ve wanted to get off my chest for a while!

It's a shame you feel this way but you are doing the right thing by taking your business elsewhere. If enough customers of Nikon have the same issues and do the same Nikon will have to look into the issues.
 
You can just imagine how the conversation went in the design department!

A - So how do we add extra power to this power hungry monster with the grip?
B - I know, lets start by taking the battery out of the camera and replace it with plastic and wires instead!
A - Excellent idea, not only could we stand the batteries up on their side inside the grip instead of lying them flat and have the grip a lot bigger than it needs to be, having that awkward shape will take up a lot more space in your camera bag too!
B - Yes, that’s why we mad the bodies smaller so we could use some of that space to carry the over sized accessories! You’ll need that extra room to take that 3rd battery that could have fitted in the camera!

Etc.etc.!

I notice you said "Generally the switch has been great, I’m getting shots that I would have missed previously and the 400mm f2.8 is just awesome". This may present problems in Sony World - they don't make 400 F2.8! I can see the Sony fanboys did a lot of research before making their recommendations;)
 
It's a shame you feel this way but you are doing the right thing by taking your business elsewhere. If enough customers of Nikon have the same issues and do the same Nikon will have to look into the issues.

I think it's a little late in the day for that. The prices on their accessories have been ridiculous for a long while.
 
I notice you said "Generally the switch has been great, I’m getting shots that I would have missed previously and the 400mm f2.8 is just awesome". This may present problems in Sony World - they don't make 400 F2.8! I can see the Sony fanboys did a lot of research before making their recommendations;)
I think you’ll find the Sony comment is a reference to the op’s mention of the thread regarding dual memory slots
 
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Some very rich people on here ,just buy the Chinese clone/copy ones they work just as well and sometimes the designs are better
 
I think you’ll find the Sony comment is a reference to the op’s mention of the thread regarding dual memory slots

Have to admit, I did guess it was just humour!

They do have a 400mm f2.8 on the way but not loads at more affordable 2nd hand prices!
 
Some very rich people on here ,just buy the Chinese clone/copy ones they work just as well and sometimes the designs are better

Some of us are gear snobs though just like buying branded clothing.

I do find the Quality control is better from the manufacturer.
 
Some very rich people on here ,just buy the Chinese clone/copy ones they work just as well and sometimes the designs are better

They may work, but rarely 'just as well', in my experience the manufacturer product generally feels so much nicer.

Normally they are just straight copies too, there is so much scope for 3rd parties to add so much more but they rarely do, that would involve designing something!

Another slap in the face is that the grips for the D500 and D850 are actually the same apart from one plastic lug on the top plate. Take the top plate off and the D500 grip works perfectly on the D850.
 
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when I was in the the Nikon fold ,I had to replace the body rubbers on both a d200 and a d300s I went back to canon after two consecutive d7100 bodies both failed on me after 4 weeks of use ,probably says more for there ability to hide faults than there quality control
 
when I was in the the Nikon fold ,I had to replace the body rubbers on both a d200 and a d300s I went back to canon after two consecutive d7100 bodies both failed on me after 4 weeks of use ,probably says more for there ability to hide faults than there quality control

Every manufacturer has faulty kit, there's been a lot of problems with Canon gear too.

The point here is actually the quality level between any original grip (regardless of camera company) and the Chinese copies is very obvious. From the quality of the materials to the feel of the controls, the original item is always a nicer product to use, especially if they duplicate the controls!
 
The saying buy cheap buy twice comes to mind, I brought a nikon grip for my 7100 a year ago and was lucky to find one second hand from cameraworld as my camera was still under warranty and if a third party grip caused any issues( unlikely I know) this might have been a problem.
 
The point here is actually the quality level between any original grip (regardless of camera company) and the Chinese copies is very obvious. From the quality of the materials to the feel of the controls, the original item is always a nicer product to use, especially if they duplicate the controls!

I agree for the most part but even so my Nikon body has the rubber hanging off and the cheap crappy Chinese copy doesn't. Why should I pay 2-3 times more for that?
 
Some of us are gear snobs though just like buying branded clothing.
I know and it’s hilarious when these snobs recommend inferior overpriced products. Flashes being the most obvious example.

Especially as Nikon has a totally useless radio flash system that only works on the latest cameras and costs 4x as much as the superior 3rd party system.
 
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